Spock/Star Trek were on NBC
Carol Burnett was on CBS
I don't think this happened?

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There's no reason why a comedy show on one network can't do a sketch based on another network's show. For instance, in 2006, Matthew Fox did a sketch about Lost (an ABC show) on Saturday Night Live (an NBC show). Similarly, the famous Shatner SNL episode that featured the "Get a life!" sketch and "The Restaurant Enterprise" also featured a sketch based on T. J. Hooker, which was on both ABC and CBS but never NBC. It's parody, after all, so copyright infringement isn't an issue.

It appears that the black & white episodes of Carol Burnett didn't make it into the syndication package, and there's been no full series released on home video that I can find.

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To my knowledge, there are no black and white episodes of the Carol Burnett Show; it was in color from the get-go. In fact, I'm pretty sure that by 1967, there were no more black & white shows in production, certainly not at the network level.

It appears that the black & white episodes of Carol Burnett didn't make it into the syndication package, and there's been no full series released on home video that I can find.

Click to expand...

To my knowledge, there are no black and white episodes of the Carol Burnett Show; it was in color from the get-go. In fact, I'm pretty sure that by 1967, there were no more black & white shows in production, certainly not at the network level.

^Well, just because that kinescope footage is in B&W doesn't mean the original broadcast wasn't in color. I mean, if you were watching a color broadcast on a black & white set, you'd see it in black & white. And there is precedent for kinescopes of color shows being made on B&W film -- for instance, some of the color Doctor Who episodes were made available overseas in B&W form, so that some of the recovered "lost episodes" from the Third Doctor era were only available in B&W even though the originals were in color.

"The Carol Burnett Show" pic is featured in Paula M Block & Terry J Erdmann's new book, "Star Trek 365: The Original Series" (Abrams Publishing; no connection to JJ) and they mention that the still is from 1967. Paula's book comes out soon (an Australian bookshop already has it!) The pic is on page 228, and explains that Burnett is holding a baby and mistaking Leonard Nimoy's Spock as the famous baby expert, Doctor Benjamin Spock.

I found your BBS doing a google search for the clip of Spock on Carol Burnett. I'm an old lady who remembers TOS from when it originally aired in 1967, and I was a huge fan of Carol Burnett. I remember actually seeing the episode on Carol Burnett, and the sketch where she had married the Invisible Man. I nearly DIED from laughter when Mister Spock walked through the door, and the reaction of Carol Burnett was priceless. I doubt she even knew that somehow they found Spock in full Trek regalia to appear.

Yes, it is true, Carol Burnett was on CBS, and Star Trek was an NBC show. I never saw an explanation for this ANYWHERE, and that makes me think it was entirely unsanctioned. I have never seen a rerun, either.

I found your BBS doing a google search for the clip of Spock on Carol Burnett. I'm an old lady who remembers TOS from when it originally aired in 1967, and I was a huge fan of Carol Burnett. I remember actually seeing the episode on Carol Burnett, and the sketch where she had married the Invisible Man. I nearly DIED from laughter when Mister Spock walked through the door, and the reaction of Carol Burnett was priceless. I doubt she even knew that somehow they found Spock in full Trek regalia to appear.

Yes, it is true, Carol Burnett was on CBS, and Star Trek was an NBC show. I never saw an explanation for this ANYWHERE, and that makes me think it was entirely unsanctioned. I have never seen a rerun, either.

But take it from an old lady who KNOWS. It actually happened!

~VOW

(edited to add: it had nothing whatsoever to do with Dr Spock)

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I can't find any reference to Star Trek and The Carol Burnett Show having a common studio or corporate ownership either, but Wikipedia lists Leonard Nimoy as a Season 1 (1967) guest on her show.

To appear as Spock, Nimoy must have had the consent of William Ware Theiss for the costume. Also, make-up man Fred Phillips must have accompanied Nimoy to Carol Burnett to get his ears and eyebrows on.

And I'd say Carol Burnett had to know he was appearing, because you can't sit in her make-up department for two hours becoming a Vulcan without her noticing.

^Well, just because that kinescope footage is in B&W doesn't mean the original broadcast wasn't in color. I mean, if you were watching a color broadcast on a black & white set, you'd see it in black & white. And there is precedent for kinescopes of color shows being made on B&W film -- for instance, some of the color Doctor Who episodes were made available overseas in B&W form, so that some of the recovered "lost episodes" from the Third Doctor era were only available in B&W even though the originals were in color.

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Agreed. The big three networks went to color in 1966, so there shouldn't have been any b&w season of Carol Burnett, as broadcast. Somebody just made a b&w kinescope of the broadcast. The network's original color videotapes of that first season might have been wiped for the same reasons of economy that led NBC to wipe the early episodes of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Even Super Bowl 1 wasn't saved.

By the middle of Star Trek's second season, Nimoy and Spock were on such good terms they felt at ease leaving the friendly confines of the series to have a little fun on The Carol Burnett Show in late 1967. In a skit titled "Mrs. Invisible Man," Burnett plays a confused young mother in search of parenting advice who mistakenly calls in Mr. Spock rather than famed pediartrician Dr. Spock. Nimoy appeared in full costume and makeup, poking good-natured fun at his famous alter ego.

Mark Clark
Star Trek FAQ: Everything Left to Know about the First Voyages of the Starship Enterprise
2012
Chapter 27, final page